Flawed Love
by huntressyuki
Summary: After the series, Van and Hitomi struggle to survive as they learn of a new enemy, of Hitomi's hidden connection to Gaea and just how hard it is to make love last.


**Flawed Love**

_Chapter One_

"Van!" Hitomi woke up screaming, nightmares of something horrible happening to the king plagued her mind night and day. The time she had spent fighting on Gaea had left Hitomi scarred and empty. When she had first left Van to continue school and see her family, she thought she'd be able to get through it. However, after she had made her way up in years at high school and watched other kids play the game of coupling she fell into a depression. She began to mourn the loss of Van as if he was dead and she was never going to see him again. Then there came a day she thought would never come again, Van took her back to Gaea for a day, for his 18 birthday to be exact. However, the visit made her even more depressed but she swore she would never let Van know of her suffering.

She rolled over in her bed and began to sob into her pillow. "Ah...Van I miss you so much." She sniffled and looked out her window at the midnight sky. "It's so clear tonight. Yet I still can't see you." Her eyes began to fill with sorrowful tears before she rolled over to try to get some more sleep. "I'm never going to pass that exam tomorrow." She mumbled as she pulled the covers up closer to her head.

"Ahhh!" A dark figure clutched his chest and fell back against a map, scattering candles across a marble floor while startling several well aged men.

"Van!" A young one called out while rushing to his feet, tipping his chair over in the wake of his actions. "Lord Van, are you alright?" Allen asked as he approached him slowly.

Van tried forcing something out through his clenched teeth but nobody could understand him. Merle entered calmly but swiftly and stood a ways behind Allen as she watched on with horror. Taking in a new breath, Van murmured something again, "...Hi-tomi's..." It was the only thing Allen could get him to say before he turned toward the other lords and declared the meeting over for today. Meanwhile, Merle knelt down beside Van's feet as he continued to lean against the wall.

"What about Hitomi? Is she in trouble or pain?" She asked quietly, but he just sat there staring of into space, she was happy to see he was no longer in pain however, she was a bit troubled by the fact that he wouldn't respond.

To everyone's surprise Van suddenly pushed himself back on his feet. "The meeting will continue as planned." Everyone froze, they had never seen anything like this, and they had been on Gaea for over 50 years.

"Lord Van, perhaps it'd be better to resume tomorrow after you've had some rest." Allen suggested and began to escort the men again but Van halted them in their paths.

"I said we'll continue, sit back down…please." He demanded in a stern voice, "Merle pick these things up." He kicked one of the candles of his way. Allen turned back and held out his hand firmly directing the men back to their seats. However, Merle could tell his pride had been wounded and that he would later sulk about his disgrace. Van continued with no more interruptions but it bothered Merle how he could so easy forget about the incident.

Later that night, they would each stare up at the majestic sky, replaying the days event over and over again in their minds, each wondering about what happened.

The next day life continued normally both on Gaea and Earth, Hitomi sat bored in her classroom waiting nervously for her exam to begin while Van sat at his breakfast table in his chambers reviewing the day's agenda. He stopped for a moment and stared between two open French doors leading out to his open balcony. He had been wondering about her for a few months now and hadn't had the time to check in on her. The last time he had seen or spoken to her was at his birthday celebration and he remembered she had mentioned something about her life changing soon but he wasn't sure what she meant by that. He gripped the jewel hidden beneath his royal tunic and closed his eyes, his mind searched for hers and found it rather stressed. Van opened his eyes to see his cold breakfast staring back at him, he decided she must be very busy and he would probably inconvenience her if he contacted her now so let her be.

It took him a minute to realize he wasn't alone anymore; he glanced over his shoulder to see Merle staring back him from the foyer of his room. "You coward," she teased lightly and he grunted in respond before turning his back to her. She smiled and almost skipped over to him, "why haven't you contacted her yet? It's been to long." Merle seated herself across from him and looked over at the empty chair next to him. She quietly snorted and turned sideways in her seat so she could see out the open doorway.

Hitomi sighed as she dropped her bag down beside her desk and flopped on her bed. She rolled over onto her side after a moment and stared out the window at the blue sky. High school was almost over for her and college was just around the corner, she had track scholarship and the school she had gotten into was just a few blocks from her high school so she could even stay at home. However, she was overjoyed about it and the prospect of the whole thing made her feel exhausted. Lately she had felt rather bored with her mundane life, there was almost no danger, and it seemed like there was nothing important for her do here. She contemplated how people did this routine day in day out, year after year and one lifetime after another. Didn't they get bored? She wondered while rolling over onto her back, "mm, life seems to get harder as you grow up."

"Perhaps," Hitomi jumped up and looked over at her doorway, "but you are far too young to be saying it in that kind of tone." She smiled as she entered and placed Hitomi's clean laundry at the foot of the bed before sitting down next to her daughter. "What's on your mind, my dear?"

Hitomi picked at her comforter before replying, "Has life ever seemed boring to you? Like you don't just seem to fit?"

The older woman smiled and rose from the bed, picking up some towels sitting on top, "Well, no, not me, but I had a couple of friends who got bored with it all, though they didn't look for a different path. They just went with the norm and that was it. I'm sure if you look hard enough, you can come up with something that'll make you happy." Hitomi looked at her mother with a mixed expression of confusion and happiness. "I wanted to be a wife and mother, so I was very happy, not to mention glad I found my place. I have a feeling you'll do the same."

"Thanks mom," she said with a faint smile.

Van landed lightly behind Merle and he attempted to sneak up on her, "It's not going to happen." She popped open one eye and smiled up at him, "This place may have new tile but it's still the same in spirit." He smiled as he sat down next to her.

"We spent so much time here as kids," he laughed a bit, "It seems so long ago."

She giggled, "You talk as if we are old."

"Well," he said as he reclined back and stared up at the Mystic Moon, "we aren't kids either."

"True," she responded rather sadly, "too true."


End file.
